Possibilities for citizen participation at local level in the Republic of Macedonia

KEKENOVSKI, JOVE (2006) Possibilities for citizen participation at local level in the Republic of Macedonia. Зборник на трудови од Меѓународната конференција ,,Changes arising from EU member status”, 1.

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Abstract

Abstract
The constitution of the Republic of Macedonia as an independent state and the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia on November 17, 1991 and the Law on Local Self-Government on October 26, 1995, the local self-government system was established and started to develop in the Republic of Macedonia as a fundamental value of its constitutional order. Notwithstanding the progress made for approximation to the European democratic standards, the analysis of the overall conditions in the local self-government and the reconsideration of the functioning of the local self-government throws up all deficiencies, irregularities and ambiguous provisions in the existing regulations concerning this area on the surface. The facts claim that the situation in the local self-government in the Republic of Macedonia is rather unfavorable. The process of developing the new system of local self-government, as one of the essential elements of modern and democratic society in our country is slow, undetermined and fragmented, and therefore, we suffer incomplete and partial local self-government.
The creation and implementation of political processes in many countries worldwide is based on parliamentary democracy. Thus many countries have a long tradition of citizen participation in the local self-government and local democracy. Yet, all of them seek for new complementary methods for involving the citizens in the policy-making and conduct, i.e. political processes at local level. The government, whether central or local, has to and should invest time, resources and commitment in the development of pertinent legal, political and institutional frameworks, when developing proper means and assessing its own efforts for including the citizens in the process of policy-making and conduct. Unsuitably designed and applied measures for informing, consulting and active citizen participation might disturb the already incompletely defined and underdeveloped local self-government system, that is relation between local authority - citizen. The local authority could try to inform, consult and involve the citizens in the policy-making process, but also it should not forget the opposite effect provided that the citizens find out that their efforts and endeavors are being ignored, or that they have no influence on the political processes.
Considering the bad experience from the application of the Law on Local Self-Government, and particularly concerning citizen participation in the political processes at local level, the following question strikes the right note: Are the existing constitutional and legal guarantees and political culture of our citizens sufficient to strengthen the relation between the citizens and the local authority, and to make their participation and influence in the policy-making processes larger and more active at local level?. I deeply believe that they are NOT.

Key words

- local self-government
- decentralization
- participation
- referendum
- meeting of citizens
- civil initiative
- participation

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Scientific Fields (Frascati) > Social Sciences > Political science
Divisions:	Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality
Depositing User:	Prof. d-r Jove Kekenovski
Date Deposited:	28 Apr 2023 07:34
Last Modified:	28 Apr 2023 07:34
URI:	https://eprints.uklo.edu.mk/id/eprint/8206

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